Stamford's Ryan Haggerty, seen here playing against Quinnipiac while suiting up for the Team USA?U-18 Developmental team, is now heading to the college ranks for real -- at RPI.

File photo by John Nash

Stamford's Ryan Haggerty, seen here playing against Quinnipiac while suiting up for the Team USA?U-18 Developmental team, is now heading to the college ranks for real -- at RPI.

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Stamford's Ryan Haggerty ready to make NHL dream come true

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STAMFORD -- When Ryan Haggerty left the city four years ago to pursue his dream of playing in the National Hockey League few would have dared to hope he would return to play for one of the local teams.

But that is just what happened last week as the right winger out Trinity Catholic and RPI signed a free-agent contract with the New York Rangers.

"It's a dream come true," said Haggerty. "I always remember playing in my driveway, imagining I was playing in game seven for the New York Rangers, so having this chance I'm very honored, but I have to remember that it was doing all the extra stuff that got me here and that's what I have to continue to do to hopefully crack the lineup. So there is a lot of hard work and sweat left to do to become a good player."

Haggerty is one of those athletes who made it look so easy on the ice, but from the beginning he was a true "rink rat," always looking for a time to drill.

He was always the first one dressed when he burst onto the scene as a talented freshman at Trinity Catholic. Long before game time, he would be in his pads in front of the locker room, practicing his stick handling. His father, Roger, would often talk about the garage door his son wore out practicing his shot.

Haggerty -- the kid called "Hags" -- was always happiest when he found some good ice and a net to shoot on.

Last week's deal is only made sweeter by the fact he grew up a Ranger fan.

Haggerty confirmed there were other teams interested in him, but he had dreamed about playing at Madison Square Garden for too long.

"We had some talks with other teams, but it was just narrowing down what was best for me and this is the best situation," said Haggerty. "Being with the Rangers is an honor because they are an original six and all their history, but also because I can remember going to Ranger games with my dad and they were always my favorite team. That makes it even more special."

The 6-foot, 200-pounder reported to the Rangers this week and will be traveling with the Blue Shirts for the rest of the year.

There is no guarantee of playing time, but the Rangers were one of the only teams willing to put him on an NHL roster, according to assistant general manager Jeff Gorton

Gorton told the New York Daily News the Rangers reportedly had kept their eye on Haggerty throughout his college days and, even though he went undrafted, they saw improvement each year, so they felt they had to make a move quickly to keep him away from other clubs.

"He's one of the top guys in college," Gorton told the Daily News last week. "He's a free agent we had at the top of our list, and this is something we felt we had to do in order to get him. Sometimes that involves burning a year of contract, (which Haggerty will do), but we felt we had to do that to get the player."

Haggerty was pleased with his final year at RPI.

He wound up as the Engineers leading scorer with 28 goals and 13 assists in 23 games, drawing him some notice as Hobey Baker Award candidate, the honor which goes to the best college hockey player in the country.

Haggerty said overall maybe RPI was a much better team than it had showed but he credited his team with sticking together and playing hard until the end. Haggerty finished his college career with a flourish by scoring four goals in his last three games in the ECAC tournament.

"It was good obviously. Personally, it was my best year in college hockey," said Haggerty. "I think it all just came together because I learned to play the complete game. I was more of a mature person off the ice. Being prepared everyday for practice and then doing the work in practice and concentrating on games. I worked on putting the puck on net and good things happen when you put pucks on net."

RPI Coach Seth Appert raved to the Daily News about Haggerty's willingness to become a complete player.

"He's made a real commitment the last year-and-a-half to being a 200-foot hockey player," Appert told the paper. "He's always been able to score, but he's increased his willingness to be a complete player."

For now, Haggerty is looking forward to being out at practice with the Rangers. He said Brad Richards had called him to welcome him on board and Haggerty has known players like Martin St, Louis, who has lived in the area for many years.

While everything happened so fast, Haggerty admitted his decision came withi some pressure that gave him some sleepless night, but in the end, he just decided to come home and make his NHL dream come true.